Saturday night I headed down there to see Peter Walker. I suppose he's basically a legend... being one of the first to combine fingerstyle guitar with Indian scales and raga forms back in the 60's. He's studied with Ravi Shankar (sitar) and Ali Akbar Khan (sarod)... So it was not to be missed. I had checked out one of his albums from back then, Rainy Day Raga, and it was quite nice... but I wasn't sure what to expect from him solo in 2008... He's toured with Jack Rose and has been as inspirational as Fahey and Basho to a new generation of guitarists such as James Blackshaw...
It ended up being a really enjoyable evening, the atmosphere in the Casa de los Jacintos was great (though a bit too smoky... really...) and Peter Walker was spellbinding. He's been fascinated by flamenco for years, and he was perhaps taking a risk by performing flamenco guitar here in Spain, but he's quite accomplished and he's studied with some great names and everyone was into it.
As the night progressed he switched back and forth between nylon and steel stringed guitars, plucking and strumming styles, and improvisation styles.... by the end of the night he was combining flamenco, raga, and American primitive guitar in really authentic and beautiful cascades of melody. It was like a language and he was narrating his life and travels to us, stories he'd picked up along the way, people he'd met, scenes he'd absorbed into his mind and heart...
The whole night he spoke to us in broken Spanish, introducing his songs and sometimes briefly giving a bit of background, but then when he began to play, it was like he was just continuing with a different voice. After finishing a phrase on the guitar he would pause and look around the room as if to make sure we were following his drift, then continue with the tale.
He's currently on tour in Europe, so if he's playing near you, I strongly recommend you go. It was really one of the most enjoyable shows I've been to in a long time.
